Audi is expected to reveal its hydrogen fuel cell-powered Q6 h-tron concept SUV soon, possibly as early as the 2016 Detroit Auto Show in January

Volkswagen, Audi’s parent company, has had an awful year; its emissions cheating scandal has severely tarnished the group’s image and it is going to cost Volkswagen a lot of money to make this right. In such a scenario, it only makes sense that it would want to show off some of the work that the group has been doing for the promotion of sustainable methods of powering a car. That is precisely why it’s believed that Audi will show off a hydrogen fuel cell SUV concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2016.

As per a report from Autocar, an Audi spokesperson refused to reveal the identity of the fuel cell car that will be making the trip to Detroit in January, but all signs point towards a conversion of the Q6 e-tron electric SUV. The all-electric e-tron Quattro concept made a big splash at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show a few months ago, where Audi unveiled the SUV as an obvious move against Elon Musk’s Tesla Model X.

While the e-tron packs a traditional electric powertrain, the so-called Audi Q6 h-tron will feature a new hydrogen fuel-cell powerplant similar to the Audi A7 Sportback h-tron Quattro. With the engines already in place, all the Audi engineers would have to do is swap the low-mounted batteries with the fuel cells, and they'd be ready. The Audi Q6 h-tron will wear only minor visual modifications from its Q6 e-tron brother, and fit into the Audi Q6 lineup alongside conventional gas-powered engines.

There’s no confirmation as yet from Audi but, either way,  we’ll find out for sure next month.

Courtesy : Zigwheels

The new engine family from Mahindra features three petrol and three diesel engines; capacities range from 1.2 to 1.6 litre.

Way back in March 2013, we broke the news that Mahindra is working on an all-new engine family that will be featured in its future range of vehicles. This new engine line-up will be seen in offerings from Mahindra as well as in models from the SsangYong brand sold in India and overseas. The carmaker has invested around USD 800 million in development of this all-new engine range. This range will include three main derivatives, with more sub-derivatives under each, depending on power and torque output and other specifications.

The new engine family includes three petrol and three diesel engines with capacities ranging from 1.2 to 1.6 litre. Developed on a modular architecture, the base 1.2-litre motors will be three-cylinder units, while the higher capacity 1.5- and 1.6-litre engines will have four cylinders.
The new set of engines use common parts and have a common 'bore center spacing' to optimise manufacturing costs. They are also being developed to be capable of clearing emission norms as high as Euro VI for use in international markets. While the engine development is an undertaking between Mahindra and its Korean affiliate, it's the parent company that will take the lead in this ambitious programme. Hence, the bulk of the development will be carried out in the Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), the company's state-of-the-art R&D facility outside Chennai.

The first set of engines from this range was launched internationally in the SsangYong Tivoli crossover. This model gets the top of the line 1.6-litre four-cylinder derivatives in both petrol and diesel versions, called e-XGi160 and e-XDi160 respectively. The 1.6-litre petrol delivers 126bhp while the diesel is good for 113bhp. These engines are mated to Aisin-developed six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes.

The recently unveiled KUV100 is the second model to benefit from this engine family. Mahindra has christened this range as the mFalcon engine range. The KUV100 gets the 1.2-litre versions of these engines. The three-cylinder 1.2-litre petrol is dubbed G80 while the 1.2-litre diesel powerplant is called D75. The G80 gets an aluminium block with dual-VVT setup and a plastic intake manifold, variable oil pump and low friction seals. It generates 81.8bhp of power and 11.73kgm of torque.  The D75 gets advanced turbo charger and like the G80, comes with some plastic parts to reduce weight. This motor also features an advanced fuel pump, plastic intake manifold, next generation turbocharger, and advanced thermostats and churns out 76.43bhp and 19.37kgm of torque. Both powerplants are likely to be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox in the KUV100. An AMT gearbox will be offered, but at a later stage.

Mahindra has confirmed that the third derivative in the family, the 1.5-litre setup, is under development and will be introduced in a future Mahindra product, which is still some time away.
The KUV100 will be launched on January 15, 2016 and bookings for the model are open now. The KUV100 will be offered in four variants. Mahindra will offer a safety pack with dual airbags across all variants. ABS will be standard across all trims of the new compact SUV.

Courtesy : Autocar

Kawasaki India will launch the new Versys 650 adventure motorcycle in the Indian market on December 24th. The new Motorcycle will be the third 650cc motorcycle from the Japanese bikemaker in India and the first CKD offering to get ABS

Kawasaki India will end 2015 on a high as it will launch the new Versys 650 on December 24th in the Indian market. The Kawasaki Versys 650 will be brought in via the CKD route to India and will be the fifth motorcycle to be locally assembled in India after the Kawasaki Ninja 300, Z250, Ninja 650 and the ER-6n. Kawasaki hasn’t announced the pricing yet but through our sources ZigWheels has found out that the bike will carry am on road price of Rs 6.75 lakh in Mumbai. This means that the Kawasaki Versys 650 will be priced at a premium in comparison to its 650cc siblings as the Kawasaki Ninja 650 carries a sticker price of Rs 6.05 lakh while the ER-6n at Rs 5.58 lakh (both prices on-road Mumbai). The reason for the steep pricing of the Kawasaki Versys 650 is the fact that it would be offered with ABS as a standard fitment which makes it the first CKD Kawasaki motorcycle to offer the above.

The styling of the Kawasaki Versys 650 is similar to its litre-class sibling with a dual headlamps and a quarter fairing while the LED tail lamp has been inspired from the Kawasaki Z1000 street bike. Powering the bike is the same 650cc motor as seen on the Ninja 650 and the ER-6n but the engine has been tuned to better suit the dual purpose nature of the Versys 650. The 649cc parallel-twin has been retuned to increase performance further up in the rev range whilst improving fuel efficiency at the same time. The twin-pot mill develops 72PS of power and 66Nm of peak torque. Power is transmitted to the rear-wheel via a 6-speed gearbox. The windscreen on the Kawasaki Ninja 650 can be manually adjusted whereas a stronger subrframe allows the use of clean-mount panniers. Aside from the inclusion of ABS, the Versys 650 will also come with adjustable suspension springs up front as well as at the back.

Courtesy : Zigwheels

The new Beetle is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine; gets a more muscular stance owing to features such as new bumpers and wheels.

Volkswagen has launched the iconic Beetle in India with prices starting from Rs 28.73 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), with the model being a CBU import. Launched internationally way back in 2011, the new Beetle has been heavily reworked compared to its older model and now gets a lower and wider stance with reworked body panels to make it appeal to a wider audience.

The older Beetle had gained a reputation for being more of a women’s car with its rather cute styling as well as the driving experience it offered. Volkswagen seems to have covered this misconception of the old car with the new Beetle getting squared bumpers, a flatter roofline and hood, an integrated spoiler and larger 16-inch wheels to make it look more muscular and give it a planted stance. However, the basic silhouette of the car remains unchanged.

The new Beetle draws power from a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine developing 149bhp and 25.5kgm of torque in place of the older model’s 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol motor. This engine is mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox with paddle shifters. The car also gets a four-link independent rear suspension to better manage Indian road conditions. The engine comes equipped with a start/stop system and regenerative braking as standard. Stopping power is provided by disc brakes all around.

The Beetle for India is offered only in one fully loaded variant and is equipped with a panoramic sunroof, bi-xenon headlamps, leather interiors, mood lighting and chrome packages for the exterior and interior as standard. Other comfort and convenience features include dual zone climate control, an eight-speaker audio system with aux, SUB and Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control along with automatic headlamps and rain sensing wipers.

On the safety front it gets dual front, side and curtain airbags and ABS, hill hold assist to keep the car from rolling back when starting on hilly terrain and a brake pad wear indicator.

The Beetle in India will be available in four exterior paint shades – orange, red, white and blue, and will be sold via select Volkswagen dealerships only.

Courtesy : Autocar

Lamborghini looks to capitalise on the success of the Huracan; as many as five derivatives likely to come in future.

The Lamborghini Huracán model range will be expanded to “at least five” derivatives, according to the company’s chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann.

The new rear-wheel-drive LP580-2 brings the number of Huracáns on sale to four, with it, the LP610-4 coupé, LP610-4 Spyder and LP620-2 Super Trofeo race car making up the current range.

Winkelmann, who may be about to leave Lamborghini according toindustry reports, said the Huracán is Lamborghini’s most “flexible” car yet and was engineered from the outset with multiple variants in mind.

“Unlike the Gallardo, where our derivative strategy came after the car was developed, and was also mainly in the second part of the life cycle, with the Huracán we initiated all those things during the development of the base car,” he said.

The next Huracan is likely to be a Spyder version of the LP580-2, but Winkelmann also confirmed that a more focused variant, perhaps adopting the Superveloce or Superleggera suffix, was part of the plan. “For sure there will be a car that is going in the direction of ‘lighter’ and ‘faster’," he said. "We are really looking at a lot of approaches.”

Winkelmann explained there were five key areas that Lamborghini wanted to cover with the Huracan range. “In simple words, we want to cover lifestyle, fun to drive, performance, high performance and race," he said.

“It could be more than five derivatives over the life cycle. We have a lot of ideas that are already planned, but the more we think, the more things are coming up; it’s a matter also of whether we can allow ourselves to do it because we also have to consider investment, production capacity and complexity.

“The effort we made in the beginning of the car’s development was remarkable and now we need to work to get all these derivatives into the market."

Courtesy : Autocar